Library of participatory methods

The ENGAGE model is built on fostering green transition in health and care organisations by engaging all staff, enhancing awareness of environmental issues and strengthening networks for sustainable practices. It emphasises participatory methods that support Communities of Practice (CoPs), which facilitate interaction, knowledge sharing and collaborative problem-solving to co-create solutions for green transition in practical settings. The library of participatory methods within the ENGAGE model is categorised into three types:

1. Paradigm-preserving methods (e.g., SWOT analysis, stakeholder mapping) operate within existing frameworks to refine ideas and strategies without disrupting current structures.
2. Paradigm-stretching methods (e.g., personas, scenario planning) broaden perspectives and encourage innovative thinking by exploring new approaches and frameworks.
3. Paradigm-breaking methods (e.g., storytelling, visual methods) challenge traditional ways of knowing, fostering creativity and intuitive understanding.

Each method in the library is described with detailed guidance on its purpose, requirements, difficulty level, time, materials, participants and implementation steps. By utilising these methods, the ENGAGE model aims to empower staff through collaboration, knowledge-building and transformative approaches to green transition.

A core component of the ENGAGE model is the library of participatory methods. The foundation of ENGAGE is on advancing green transition as a key responsibility of all staff, building transprofessional knowledge and awareness in environmental matters and building or strengthening networks for green transition in health and care organisations.

When developing the ENGAGE model, the considerable body of research and practice on participation (such as pioneering work of Arnstein, 1969) was carefully considered, while building on understanding the role of situated learning and informal learning when creating spaces for staff engagement. Better advancement of the green transition in health and care organisations was supported by directing ENGAGE's methods to support engagement in and between Communities of Practice (CoPs). CoPs have important potential in reinforcing interaction and knowledge sharing and building a sense of belonging among staff when co-designing and mainstreaming innovative solutions for green transition in the practical circumstances in health and care organisations and systems.

How to use the library?

Three types of methods

The library is divided into three parts: paradigm-preserving, paradigm-stretching and paradigm-breaking methods (McFadzean, 2000), according to how they change people's perceptions and understanding.

Paradigm -preserving methods, e.g. brainstorming, SWOT, blue ocean strategy, stakeholder analysis

These are techniques used to analyse and generate ideas within the context of existing frameworks or assumptions. These methods help staff, the Community of Practice, to make informed decisions, innovate and refine strategies while remaining grounded in established paradigms or ways of thinking.

These methods are paradigm-preserving because they work within the confines of existing frameworks, goals and environments. They do not seek to completely overhaul or disrupt current understandings, but rather help organisations to assess, plan and innovate within those established structures. They provide a balance of creativity, strategic analysis and stakeholder alignment, while respecting existing paradigms.

Paradigm-stretching methods, e.g. meaning making and sense making methods such as work and patient or customer stories, personas, world café, patient or customer journey mapping, scenario planning for possible future scenarios

These techniques are used to expand our thinking or change the way we approach problems, typically by presenting new perspectives and frameworks. In the context of meaning making and sense making, these methods help individuals or teams to understand complex situations, customer needs or organisational challenges.

These methods are not just techniques for gathering data or generating ideas—they are frameworks for broadening how we see problems, opportunities and solutions. By encouraging diverse perspectives, creative thinking and deeper empathy, paradigm-stretching methods such as work stories, personas, journey mapping and empathy mapping help us break free from conventional ways of thinking and approach complex issues with a fresh mindset.

Paradigm-breaking methods, e.g. arts-based methods such as drama methods, hidden thoughts, visual methods, storytelling and narrative inquiry

These are techniques that challenge traditional ways of knowing and understanding. These methods go beyond the logical, linear forms of inquiry and tap into non-verbal, intuitive and creative dimensions of human experience.

These paradigm-breaking methods push the boundaries of traditional research or development practices and offer new, creative and often more human-centred ways of understanding the world. They invite new perspectives and insights that might be obscured by more structured, objective or linear methods.

Structure of method descriptions

Each method is described with the help of the following parts:

Introduction

What is required:

Level of difficulty:

Time required:

Materials:

Participants:

How to use:

When to use:

Why to use:

How to document:

The roots of the method can be found here:

Paradigm-preserving methods:

Paradigm-stretching methods:

Paradigm-breaking methods:

Pässilä, A. 2025.